Posts in the Contemporary genre

Truth: A painful condition caused by a prolonged state of sexual arousal without release.
Myth: Only affects males.

SARAH

I’m beyond frustrated with the man who’s left me high and very far from dry. Multiple times. But, somehow, even though I’m not interested in a relationship, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome keeps me coming back for more—one crazy, sexual debacle after the next.

Come hell or high water, the stars will align, and the release will be out of this world.

JACK

I’m captivated with the woman who’s left me sixty-nine shades of blue, and she’s only in this for one thing. The first time, I blew it—and not in the good way—but I’m going to ensure we finally see it through. I need to put an end to this “plague” of sexual calamities and prove to Sarah that we can have more.

It’s time to grab the universe by the balls and show it who’s boss.

RC BOLDTis the wife of Mr. Boldt, a retired Navy Chief, mother of Little Miss Boldt, and former teacher of many students. She currently lives on the southeastern coast of North Carolina, enjoys long walks on the beach, running, reading, people watching, and singing karaoke. If you’re in the mood for some killer homemade mojitos, can’t recall the lyrics to a particular 80’s song, or just need to hang around a nonconformist who will do almost anything for a laugh, she’s your girl.

First in a fresh contemporary romance series from award-winning debut author Debbie Burns.

Every heart has a forever home.

Megan Anderson loves the animals at her no-kill shelter. She’ll do anything for them—even go toe-to-toe with a handsome man who’s in way over his head. She’ll help him sort out his troubles, but getting too close to an adorable puppy’s human counterpart? Been there, done that, got burned.

When Craig Williams arrived at the local shelter for help, he didn’t expect a fiery young woman to blaze into his life. But the more time they spend together, the more he realizes it’s not just animals Megan is adept at saving—she could be the one to rescue his heart.

Soon, Craig and Megan find that the magic of unconditional love can do anything…even lead to their forever home.

Check out our exclusive excerpt below!

Working to suppress the shivers traversing her spine, Megan switched the travel mug of sweet-scented mocha to her free hand and tucked her half-frozen one into her coat pocket. She tried not to focus on how much warmer the shoulder was that was rubbing against Craig’s upper arm as they meandered the darkened streets of Webster Groves.

“I wish it were still Christmas so you could see it,” she said. “I always feel like I’m in a snow globe because the houses are done up so cute.”

“It’d be colder if it were Christmas. It’s mid-March, and I can’t feel my toes.”

My husband is a news junkie. He has the network news on TV and is on his iPad cruising other sites. When something big happens he is glued to the TV.

I hate that.

A lot.

I am not a news junkie. In fact, I would be really happy to only hear the weather report, the sports scores, and how kittens got rescued from trees. That doesn’t mean my head is in the sand or I walk around like Pollyanna, but why go searching for bad news?

I work in a school for kids who have dropped out or have been kicked out of regular school. I teach teen moms, drug dealers, drug addicts, gang members, depressed students, bullied students, and a huge cross section of LGBTQ students who felt they didn’t fit in at their regular high schools. Many of my students are now or have been homeless. Many of them have been abused or neglected by the very people who are supposed to love them the most. This year alone I had 3 students die from drug overdoses.

Aw, baseball, America’s pastime. There’s nothing better than sitting in the stands and watching a player smash a 90+ mph fastball over the wall. The art of the game, the patience, the strategy, and those hot baseball pants, what’s not to love?

I’m a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan, but I love watching games even if my RedBirds aren’t playing. Pitching duels, high scoring games, the long ball, I’ll sit through anything. Even a rain delay. Naturally, I also enjoy the sexiness on the field.

So here are my top 5 sexy baseball players who don’t play for the Cardinals:

Kris Bryant – 3rd baseman for Chicago Cubs – just look at those eyes. It also helps that he’s one hell of a player. His batting stance is almost perfect.

Derek Jeter – former shortstop for New York Yankees – no list is complete without Jeter who seems to get better with age. Retirement suits him.

Kevin Kiermaier – center fielder for Tampa Bay Rays – I watch the Rays when I can. For good reason.

ANNOUNCING THREE BEAUTIFUL NEW TRADE PAPERBACK EDITIONS FROM THE COLORADO MOUNTAIN SERIES!

THE GAMBLE

Life isn’t meant to be perfect. It’s meant to be lived . . .

Nina Sheridan thought she’d found the perfect man who would become the perfect husband. She was wrong. When Nina realizes the man she planned to grow old with doesn’t know her at all, it’s time to rethink her idea of perfect. And what better place to get her life in order than a remote Colorado mountain town halfway around the world?

Gnaw Bone, Colorado, may not be flashy or cosmopolitan, but it’s got a brand of hospitality all its own. Nina isn’t entirely sure she’s ready to trade the life she thought she wanted in England for cozy evenings in her mountain retreat, and she definitely isn’t sure she’s ready to handle the connection she feels to the owner of her rental house, Max Holden . . .

Nina didn’t come to Colorado to find love, but even the best-laid plans can go awry. Now, if Nina can let go of her past, Max-and a future in Gnaw Bone-might just be the perfect second chance she’s been waiting for.

In my new release, Talk British to Me, my hero is the Dating Guy on a popular morning radio show. To keep his identity a secret, he uses a different name and a British accent. This makes him a very popular Brit. He’s definitely my current favorite. But I’ve got others too—Daniel Craig (I may or may not have a picture of me photo shopped next to him, just saying), Henry Cavill, David Beckham, Agatha Christie, Daphne du Maurier, to name a few—and I thought surely some of my favorite authors also have favorite Brits, so I asked them! Here’s what they had to say…

Not only was she one of the world’s first programmers, she was also a mathematician, computer scientist, scientist writer, created the first algorithm, AND was a countess. I also love that she is Lord Byron’s only legitimate child. How cool is that? The father of romanticism gave birth to the mother of computer science.

Rachel Harris, author of The Nanny Arrangement ~ Oh gosh, that’s so hard to choose! I think I have to go with Colin Firth. He’ll forever be Mr. Darcy and that man and movie can get me out of any funk I’m in. Sick? Pride & Prejudice time. Sad? Turn it on. Bored? Yup, I lose myself in his brooding stare. But I also have a huge girl crush on Emma Watson 🙂

Hayson Manning, author of Taming the CEO ~ My favorite Brit hands down would be JK Rowling for bringing us, Harry Potter. I’ve had the joy of reading the books to my kids, watching the movies. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried (don’t get me started on Hedwig). So thank you to JK Rowling for inspiring generations of kids to dive into a book (and their parents too).

Cindi Madsen, author of Confessions of a Former Puck Bunny ~ It’s so hard to pick just one favorite Brit when there are so many hotties to choose from. I’m going to have to go with Richard Armitage. If you haven’t watched him in the North & South miniseries, you’re missing out. Between the looks, sexy accent, brooding, and the crazy intense romantic tension–need I say more?–I fell a little bit in love with him. (Oh & it’s totes on Netflix right now)

Julie Richman, author of The Do-Over ~ Patsy and Edina. Hands down my favorite Brits. My nephew calls me “Aunt Eddie” – and there’s a reason for that (yup, I’m owning up to it). I can binge on Season’s of AbFab and love to do it with close friends and family members who “get it”. Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley are brilliant and a fantasy of mine, Sweetie Darling, would be to write with Jennifer Saunders someday. I’ll bring the Bolly. Wear LaCroix.

(Welshmen aren’t Brits, are they? UK and all…because if we can squeeze them in…the handsome man on my next cover, Jason Caselton, would need to be on the list…and probably need to be on an AbFab episode).

*Robin here – I just googled Jason and yep, no problem staring at him for a while.

Anissa Garcia, author of The Promise Series ~ My favorite Brit?? I have to choose one?!! Hmm…Mr. Darcy because he has more than 10 thousand a year. 😉 But, seriously, he may not be completely charming, but he’s dashing, sincere, and tries to do the right thing.

And Tom Hardy because he rescues people and dogs in real life.

Maggie Kelley, author of One Little Kiss ~ Well…wrap Matthew Goode up in a Union Jack and I’m a goner but…my true Brit crush is Mick Jagger. Never knew sexy until I spent a night in the third row of a Stones concert-watching Mick strut. Damn, that devil’s got all my sympathy.

Who is your favorite Brit?

About ROBIN BIELMAN

When not attached to her laptop, USA Today Bestselling Author Robin Bielman can almost always be found with her nose in a book. A California girl, the beach is her favorite place for fun and inspiration. Her fondness for swoon-worthy heroes who flirt and stumble upon the girl they can’t live without jumpstarts most of her story ideas.

About TALK BRITISH TO ME:

As the Dating Guy on L.A.’s top morning show, I give the single guy’s perspective on dating, love, and sex—and I give great advice. Everyone’s hooking up…well, except for me. Sure, I can get any woman I want, but I’ve got a “no relationship” clause in my contract and the only woman I want has “relationship” written all over her. Probably stamped on her ass, too. And wouldn’t I like to confirm that.

Unfortunately, she wants nothing to do with me. At all. Something about the next Ice Age might have even come up in her rebuttal. Adorable. Because she’s determined to ignore what one simple kiss proved: she wants me as badly as I want her.

Everything in me is screaming to go after her, but I’ve got a secret that I’m fairly certain will end up with her roasting my nuts over an open fire. So, job on the line? Check. Nuts on the line? Check. Can’t get her out of my head? Nail…meet coffin. But what a way to go…

1,843 days. That’s how long I survived in that hellhole. They tried to break me, but I resisted. And I owe it all to the memory of warm summer nights, the scent of peaches, and the one woman who loved me more than I ever deserved to be loved. Now, I’ll do anything to get back to her.

Only Shelby Eubanks isn’t the girl I left behind all those years ago. She’s someone else, a stranger. My Shelby-my little green-eyed firecracker-would never give up her dreams, would never disappear into her mother’s ambitions. But I won’t give up on her. On us. I may be broken, and scarred, and not the man I used to be, but I will do whatever it takes to remind her of the story of us.

I just need a moment alone, to remember how to breathe and to remember how to push the hurt away so I can go back out there and do my job. Hold my head high with a smile on my face and pretend like dancing with Eli, being close to Eli, and letting him rain insults down on me, didn’t cut me in half.

As soon as I turn the handle and push open the office door, I feel something solid slam into me from behind, moving me faster into the dark room. I trip over my feet and an arm slides around my waist to steady me before whirling me around. I smell his soap and recognize his firm hold on me before the moonlight shining in the floor-to-ceiling windows behind me illuminates the shadow of his face, but that doesn’t stop the rapid thumping of my heart as the door is kicked shut with a slam and my body is turned and pushed roughly against the wall next to it. With the first touch of his hands, the first feel of the heat from his skin against me, I’m lost. I’m drowning in a pool of desire I’ve only ever felt with him, and I never want to come up for air. Every inch of my body is on fire, begging for more, needing everything I’ve been missing, but knowing everything about this moment is wrong. This can’t happen. I can’t want this and I certainly can’t act on what I’m feeling.

The stars are about to align in the newest Shaughnessy brothers romance! Check out our exclusive excerpt below!

“Stupid, stupid, stupid.” The clipped words matched her pace as she hurried to the Jeep. Honestly, she wouldn’t have minded Owen walking with her, but then he’d see what she was trying to hide.

Another painting of him.

What is wrong with me? She admonished herself. Twice in the last several weeks—and the only times she’d picked up a paint brush—and she’d ended up painting Owen. Today she painted him with the canyon as a backdrop as he looked through the telescope. She stopped and looked at the canvas and sighed.

It captured him perfectly.

Again.

“Ugh…I have to stop doing this!” At the Jeep, she placed her supplies in the trunk and locked it up and quickly headed back toward the campsite. The sun was setting fast and she wasn’t up for walking alone in the dark. As she walked by the public restroom, she stopped in to use it before going back to their site and when she got there, she smiled at the scene before her.

Owen had a fire going and had spread a blanket over the nearby bench and set their dinner up on it. All in all it looked very romantic and if she pushed her unease aside, she could allow herself to enjoy the moment and the effort Owen put in to it.

“It looks like dinner is served,” she said lightly as she walked over and sat down.

His smile was genuine and Brooke was sorry she’d run off a few minutes ago. Maybe he’d be flattered that she’d painted him…it was possible. The problem was that she was trying to wrap her own brain around why it was this man who took her out of every comfort zone she had and why.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. There was just the two of them and the sounds of nature all around. The campground was relatively empty and she wasn’t sure if it was a blessing or a curse just yet.

“So are we going to see anything amazing in the sky tonight?” she asked.

Jessica was going to rip that surgeon a new asshole when she saw him. That was what she was going to do!

She plopped down in the recliner next to Tyler’s bed and tapped her foot on the floor at mach three.

Asshole. Jerk. Over-bearing, over-protective, know-it-all surgeon. So what if she had a different last name? So what if she was a reporter? Tyler was her twin, and Gabriel was her stepbrother from her mom’s second husband. He’d been her brother since she was twelve. Different last name? Yeah. But so fucking what? Gabriel and his brother and sister had a different dad, and Tyler had elected to keep their biological father’s name. Jessica preferred to think of her father as the sperm donor and had assumed her mother’s maiden name of Finley when she turned eighteen.

Dr. Walker probably wouldn’t understand any of that. He probably grew up in a house with a white picket fence, two parents who actually loved each other and stayed together forever, and a golden retriever named Max who played fetch and slept at the foot of his bed every night to chase the monsters away.

“Jerk.”

“What are you so mad about, Jess? I can feel the rage from over here.” Tyler’s hoarse voice brought her back from the land of imagining ways to torture Dr. Walker, some of which were beginning to distract her. She’d imagined stringing him up naked, but the whole naked thing had ruined it for her. Completely distracting thought. He was supposed to be old, and ugly, and annoying. Not young, gorgeous, and annoying.

“Oh, the jerk who operated on you got me kicked out of recovery. I told him I was a reporter and since we don’t have the same last name, he didn’t believe I was your sister.”

I am so ready for my summer reads! I’m a huge reader and normally get some quality book snuggle every night—but this last month has been CRAZY and I’ve hardly had time to read at all. But we’ve reached the light at the end of the tunnel and I’m about to have my normal routine restored. In anticipation of the coming book binge, I’ve selected a handful of sexy summer reads guaranteed get my grin on.

Keep reading for giveaway details!

I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE by Lauren Layne

Seriously, Lauren gives good RomCom. Her books are light and fresh and sexy and sizzly, and I always tell myself I’m going to try and make them last, but then end up devouring them in one sitting because they’re impossible to put down.

WICKED ABYSS by Kresley Cole

Meet my all time favorite author, Kresley. I use her first name like we’re best friends. We’ve never OFFICIALLY met, but I’m guessing after all the fan mail, she feels like we have. Like we’re sisters maybe. I bet she’s hoping we’ll get stuck in an elevator for eleven or twelve hours together too some day. She’d tell me stories and I’d give her the bottle of water from my bottomless purse. We’d bond while I recounted all my favorite parts of the books she wrote. It would NOT be creepy.

Anyhoo, this one’s the latest in her crack addictive series IMMORTALSAFTERDARK. But if you’ve already burned through that one, try the ARCANACHRONICLES. Or if you’re feeling naughty… THE GAME MAKER series.